Originally posted by cdkayak I have a Black Diamond Sprinter which works well. Light, has a red blinker on the battery pack on the back and it's rechargeable.

Black Diamond Sprinter FTW!

The sprinter is certainly a popular one. the cool thing about it is that it comes with a rear red blinky light. I wish more of them did! it only has two levels tho, with a max of 75 lm. Which is solid, and about the light level I normally choose to run with. Not sure about the over the head strap. What I don't like about it is that it only has a 6hr burn time and it's a rechargeable battery.

I realize everyone has their own desires and needs- but since this is a discussion of headlamps, I'm gonna share why I prefer AAA powered headlamps vs rechargeables. (YMMV)

1st: It's 5am. I'm going for a run. I put on my rechargeable headlamp and I forgot to charge it last night. What do you do?

2nd. Ultras. hard to plug your headlamp into a tree for a few hours. easier to just have a few tiny AAA's in your bag.

3rd. they tend to be more expensive.

I guess the upside is that if get in the habit of always plugging in your headlamp, then you always run out the door with a full charge.

The rechargeable issue was something I worried about as well since this light usually stayed in my bag for running after work. I have a spare AAA LED headlamp in the car as a backup in the event I forget to charge the BD. Obviously that doesn't help if the BD runs out during the run though. The over the head strap was removable on the version I got, I haven't had any issues using it without that strap.

Ultras would be another story & I agree with you on that, easier to carry spare batteries. Same thing for camping, I use the AAA headlamps.

Originally posted by cdkayak I have a Black Diamond Sprinter which works well. Light, has a red blinker on the battery pack on the back and it's rechargeable.

Black Diamond Sprinter FTW!

The sprinter is certainly a popular one. the cool thing about it is that it comes with a rear red blinky light. I wish more of them did! it only has two levels tho, with a max of 75 lm. Which is solid, and about the light level I normally choose to run with. Not sure about the over the head strap. What I don't like about it is that it only has a 6hr burn time and it's a rechargeable battery.

I realize everyone has their own desires and needs- but since this is a discussion of headlamps, I'm gonna share why I prefer AAA powered headlamps vs rechargeables. (YMMV)

1st: It's 5am. I'm going for a run. I put on my rechargeable headlamp and I forgot to charge it last night. What do you do?

2nd. Ultras. hard to plug your headlamp into a tree for a few hours. easier to just have a few tiny AAA's in your bag.

3rd. they tend to be more expensive.

I guess the upside is that if get in the habit of always plugging in your headlamp, then you always run out the door with a full charge.

The rechargeable issue was something I worried about as well since this light usually stayed in my bag for running after work. I have a spare AAA LED headlamp in the car as a backup in the event I forget to charge the BD. Obviously that doesn't help if the BD runs out during the run though. The over the head strap was removable on the version I got, I haven't had any issues using it without that strap.

Ultras would be another story & I agree with you on that, easier to carry spare batteries. Same thing for camping, I use the AAA headlamps.

If you go the AAA batteries route, get rechargeable batteries. Sure, they cost 3-4X as must as "disposable" batteries, but after the third or fourth use, they have paid for themselves. I have two sets of rechargeable batteries. 1 set is in the light while the other set recharges.

Chicks are always commenting on how bright my light is. Dudes are jealous.

Originally posted by VGT My wife got me a little LED that clips to my hat. Works good enough, couldn't imagine wearing a full headlight.

I've used some of these clip-on ones that I picked up from meritline I think. They were cheap and worked well. Downside is replacing the little watch-style batteries eventually. If you can find some that take a AAA then that might be a simpler option.

I have a Black Diamond Spot. It has all kinds of nice features like lots of modes and a way to check the battery power when you turn it on. Not rechargeable, though. It generates plenty of light (90 lumens on bright mode) and a nice long beam. I have awful night vision but that is plenty for me to run by. I usually start running just as it gets light, but I take the headlamp to see and be seen on cloudy mornings and if I start a bit earlier than usual. The issue here is that streetlights are often turned off/go off at random, even in total darkness--I've been running along at 5 AM, or biking home after 9 PM, and suddenly an entire street goes dark. For being seen from the rear, I clip a flashing red Planet Bike rear light onto the waistband of my shorts.

On the low mode it is also useful for reading and finding things in various third world settings like long-distance buses, unelectrified village houses, and blackouts. Plus searching for traumatized cats hiding in the "bunker" under the stairs in my apartment after a storm.

I mostly use a $12 headlamp found at most retailers (Walmart, Target, Kmart, Menards, etc). I think it's made by Energizer. Has several different light settings, narrow beam, wide beam, red light. I also have knuckle lights, and a more expensive headlamp ($70). My favorite is the cheapo Energizer headlamp.